Happy 4th!

Our Fourth of July was full of events--first the parade in Colchester with friends, then a quick trip back to Burlington for lunch/naps and a quick stop in at the neighborhood picnic, then out to Tracy and Jon's annual Hughesapalooza BBQ! Happy Independence Day!

Daddy and Patrick kept cool in the shade during most of the parade.

Will LOVED the flags he collected!

Felix and Justin catch up while Patrick sneaks some candy.

A much needed cool down. 

Trucks! And a flag in the back pocket. :-)

Will takes a shade break. Daddy stays in the same place.

Will and his new friend, Anya. 

Or are they friends? :-)

Blue lollipop=terrible mess but quite delicious. 

So Patriotic!

Mr. America.

Rain Dance!

We had the most incredible, powerful rainstorm the evening of July 3rd. It was a gorgeous, albeit HOT, day both before and after, but the storm was sudden and fierce. It wasn't a thunderstorm--just a total and complete downpour! I just couldn't resist going out with Will to jump in puddles and dance in the rain. Patrick, unfortunately, was taking a late afternoon nap and missed the fun. Justin braved the torrential rains during the worst of it to make sure dinner didn't burn. After all was said and done, the skies cleared and we had a beautiful evening. I love weather like that!

Daddy got a chain saw!

Justin wanted a chain saw for Father's Day. I told him that something like that shouldn't have to be a gift and to just go buy one. How silly was that? He and Will were giddy with excitement when Justin brought it home. I wish I could have provided such a thrill! It was fun to watch the boys become familiar with the new "toy". Now I just need to buy Will his own toy version, since he obviously needs a more kid-friendly model. 

My view from the deck. :-)

The keeper of the oil.

Watching from a safe distance. 

Will LOVED this toy chain saw the next day at Tracy/Jon's Fourth of July BBQ. He cried when he had to give it back!

Patrick's Favorite Things

A few weeks ago, I told about Will's favorite things and promised I would do the same for Patrick soon. Well, that time is now. Oh--and I do have some new stats from his 15-month check up, which took place just over a week ago. Patrick is 30.5" tall and weights 22 lbs, 6 oz. He's small for his age, but he's doing great with meeting developmental milestones. I'll take it--as the doctor keeps pointing out, Justin and I are not large people so we shouldn't expect to have children who are off the charts size-wise. 

Without further adieu, here are some of Patrick's current favorite things...

Being close to people is important to Patrick. He notices people and likes to be near  them. It's pretty endearing!

"Stealing" things he knows he shouldn't have. He's a little sneak! He is quite attracted to mugs and glasses. I really have to watch my beverages around him. Thankfully, this was just water. 

Stacking things and putting things inside containers. He loves his stacking cups since they serve both functions. 

Attention. Patrick absolutely GLOWS when he is in the spotlight. I think it must be a second child thing--he doesn't get the spotlight quite as much as Will did at the same age. :-(

Digging through cupboards...Patrick loves markers, paper, crayons, and scissors (not that we let him use scissors, yet!). 

The blue squirrel ride/push toy from Aunt Kerry, Uncle Tim, Jack, and Ella. He is riding it backwards in this picture!

Eating. Patrick has grown quite the paunch recently! :-) He loves snacks.

Wired Will

I think "light" was Will's favorite word, and ever since then, he has been extremely curious (one might even say obsessed, with anything with power). That has not changed. Will likes the gadgets, and he's good at using them. Justin's power tools are endlessly fascinating to Will, as are my "iDevices" as we jokingly call them--the iPhone, iPad2, and iPod. When Justin replaced some outlets in the bathroom, Will was thrilled to get the old outlets--no longer attached to any live wires of course--and he took them around and plugged things into them. He's our little engineer boy, just like Daddy! :-)

He looks like such a big boy here! All smiles with the drill.

The iPad is a hit--especially this guitar app. 

Now these next two photos just make me laugh! Will snuck away with my iPhone today...the next thing I know I see the door to the deck open as I stood in the kitchen. I peeked out and saw this! I grabbed the camera and took a picture through the screen. I didn't want him to see me! Will had turned on Pandora, found some headphones, and was jammin'!

I love the pink phone case, the HUGE headphones, and the Sesame Street undies. Classic.

Oh, hi Mommy and Daddy. Don't mind me.

Check out that BELLY! Hilarious angle. Love it!!!!

Flip flops

I ordered Will some new flip flops and he thinks he's hot stuff when he wears them! Perhaps because Justin wears flip flops most of the time and his friend Carter at daycare (who's a whole year older). :-) Whatever it is, he loves his new flops, and he wears them with pride. 

Strutting his stuff. :-)

Will was also proud to carry the key to our neighbors' house. We were cat sitting. 

I love this action shot of Patrick!

Flip flops on a big boy bike at Walmart.

Shelburne Farms

I met some friends and their kids at Shelburne Farms on Thursday. Even though we've lived here 10 years, I had never been there! It's an amazing place with beautiful grounds. Yesterday, we visited the children's farmyard, but there is a gorgeous inn and many scenic walking/hiking trails there too, all right on the shore of Lake Champlain in Shelburne Bay. Beautiful! Anyway, the trip to the farm was a hit with both boys. Will was especially taken with the farm machinery, especially the tractor. There was an operational tractor which brings people to and from the parking lot, and an old non-operational tractor which he loved sitting on. The tractor toys found all around the farmyard were pretty enticing too. Patrick, on the other hand, was THRILLED with the animals...all except the very talkative sheep. They were "baaing" quite loudly, and it made Patrick cry. I thought it was quite funny--they were so animated! It was a fun trip, and it gave Justin precious "kid free" time to work on our bathroom project. I think I got the better end of that deal. ;-)

Yay! BIG smiles from Will!

Love at first sight.

Will's friend Willa is a little more daring!

He could have stayed at the tractor/farm animal toy table all afternoon!

Will would not try milking the cow, but he did say, "Wow, cows are BIG, Mommy!" 

Patrick squealed with glee every time he saw a new animal. :-)

Will really like the baby cows.

Mini meltdown. 

These are the loud sheep I wrote about. "MAAAAAAAA!"

More toys...and cutie pie Anya. 

Will wanted to bring these tractors to the next destination. 

Ice cream break! Zachary, Willa, Will, and Anya.

On the wagon ride home...that's my friend Tammy. 

The tractor which pulled us back to the parking lot. Patrick was a grumpy boy by this point. Will wouldn't get on this tractor, even after being invited. It IS huge, so I guess I can't blame him!